Helpful hints and friendly notes from the world-acclaimed photography instructors at BetterPhoto.com

August 10, 2005

Digital Velvia

There has been some on-line chatter in regards to getting the famous Velvia color "pop" in digital images. Popular Photography had a short feature on Velvia recipe that can be created in Photoshop. But, there has been a Velvia automation that has been around for a little while which I have found to be very easy to use and quite useful. I apply it to every digital file. For those who have a history of using Velvia50, this software will be quite easy to work with because the old timers (film shooters) will be able to previsualize the end result, based on experience, and create the Velvia50 look with ease. But, have no fear if you have never shot a film camera and had the pleasure of seeing a transparency shot with Velvia50. One can program the software to deliver various levels of color saturation, warmth, intensity, and dynamic range to increase the color punch of your images. It's quite simple, and the results can be named and saved for future use. Check out http://fredmiranda.com and look around for Velvia Vision. It costs $25 and the time you save is well worth the price.

The first image hereafter is shot with no color adjustment:

The following image has my Velvia3 setting applied (I've got four versions of Velvia, depending on the image) :

What a difference, huh? And great for those of us who miss the Velvia50 look and for those who yearn for more saturation without looking artificial!